Freshman Year
by lovemeforalways
Summary: Chad Foster begins college ready to be an independent man, living it up in New York City. However, when he meets and gets to know his roommate, Percy Jackson, his freshman year takes a turn he wasn't quite expecting...
1. Moving In

Hey everyone!  
It's Jenna! I'm so glad you're reading this!  
This is my Percy Jackson fanfic, and I'm very excited about it. I hope you are too!  
Percy Jackson rocks! :)

* * *

"Mom, seriously," I said. "I'm fine, okay?"

"Oh," My mother's quiet voice came from the other end of the phone. "But there must be something you've forgotten. And do you need any help?"

I rolled my eyes. "Mom, you can't help me. You're in California."

She sighed nervously. "I know…I can't believe we decided to take this vacation now. I don't know _what_ we were thinking, letting you start college on your own…"

"Mom," I tried to use a reassuring voice. "I'm alright, okay? I'm an adult now. You don't need to worry so much."

She heaved another little sigh. "Are you sure-"

"Positive. Now you just go back to Dad and finish your vacation. Have a good time, okay? Say hi to Grandma for me. And don't waste time stressing about me."

Her voice was hesitant. "Well…okay. You call me if you need anything, okay?"

"I will, Mom. Goodbye."

"I love you!" She said.

"Love you too. Bye."

Then I hung up. I felt sorry for my dad, who would have to deal with her for the remainder of the week.

I turned around to look at the room. The half I stood on was mostly filled with boxes, along with a twin bed and a dresser. The other side only had a stripped bed.

Things were already starting to come out of my boxes-clothes I'd shuffled through, videogames and books slipping out. I knew that eventually most of it would end up on the floor in a mess only I could navigate and categorize, much as my room at my old house had been.

At this point, the door to the room opened and a boy walked in. He was my age, probably an inch taller than me. He had medium-length black hair, and at the moment it was sort of falling into his eyes, which were green. He was carrying a duffle bag.

"This is 219?" He asked.

"I hope so." I said. There weren't any numbers on our door, but sequentially, this should have been the right room. "You my roommate?"

The boy stepped the rest of the way into the room. "I guess. I'm Percy." He stuck his hand out, and I shook it. "I'm Chad," I replied. "Make yourself at home."

He grinned, and dumped his bag on the bed.

"I'll go get more stuff from my car," Percy said. I nodded, and he left. I opened a box and began sifting through it.

I didn't know it at that point, but those moments were the start of what would be pretty much the most insane school year of my life.

__________

Once we'd unpacked a bit, I invited him to play some 007. He accepted, so we spent about twenty minutes setting up the TV and Xbox. We played for half an hour, and then someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said, wondering who it was.

The door opened, and a girl was standing in it. She had honey-colored hair put up in a messy ponytail. She was tall and pretty thin, wearing sweatpants that only reached her knees and a Tshirt advertising a movie theater.

She walked in, smiling. "Hey," She said. "I'm Jenna. I live down the hall, and I was just dropping by to introduce myself."

Percy stood up, and I did the same.

"I'm Percy Jackson," He said, shaking her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

He sounded like something out of a chick flick. Slightly annoyed, I held out my hand and Jenna took it. "I'm Chad Foster." I said.

"Great!" Jenna said. "It was great to meet you guys. See you around?"

We muttered agreement, and she walked out, her bare feet padding softly on the carpet.

"She was cute," I said once the door closed.

"Mm-hmm," Percy replied, picking up the controller again. He was preoccupied-clearly, he had a girlfriend.

Curious, I looked over to his side of the room. My eyes locked on something. Sure enough, on the table by his bed, there was a picture.

"Who's this?" I asked, walking over and picking up the photo.

Percy crossed them room in two strides. "That's Annabeth."

I put down the picture, because I could tell I was bugging him. I'd seen it though, and this Annabeth looked fierce. She had blonde hair tucked into a baseball cap, and was wearing a Tshirt. She'd been holding a laptop case and a notebook. The most shocking thing was her eyes-they were light gray, and had a look as though she was calculating something. She seemed like the kind of girl who'd hit you just for looking at her.

"Girlfriend?" I asked.

Percy nodded, staring at the photo himself now. "She's in Connecticut. Yale. She's a genius."

"What degree is she getting?" I asked, wondering what sort of genius she was.

"Architecture."

Weird. "What about you?" I asked. "What are you going after?"

Percy shrugged. "History, I think. Maybe Ancient Studies. I like old stuff. You?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll go for psychology."

"Really?" Percy's voice was surprised. I guess I didn't look like a shrink. "How come?"

"Pays a lot," I said. "Flexible hours. And I'm good with other people's problems."

"Cool," Percy said. "I'll keep that last thing in mind."

We both grinned.

* * *

Yay! First chapter!  
You know the drill...review! Tell me whatcha think so I can do better and make you happy.  
Because it's all about you. For real. I'm writing for you. So I gotta know what you want!

Love you all, see you soon!

Jenna 3


	2. Invitation

Thanks to the few of you who reviewed! (Joslyn, you wouldn't sick Apollo on me. He's a god, he has more important things to do.)  
Yes, The Jenna in here is me, And Joslyn and Tyler are my real-life friends too. But, come on...it's Percy Jackson! I want to meet Percy! So do all my awesome friends!  
Okay, go read my second chapter.

* * *

Classes started that week, and in between listening to lectures and reading textbooks, Percy and I got to know eachother better. We were both pretty messy, and he appreciated video games, so we got along pretty well.

"Where're you from?" I asked while we took a Call of Duty break from studying.

"Right here in New York," he said. "You?"

I should have seen this one coming. "Just…outside of the city."

Percy paused the game and looked at me. "Look, I really don't care if you're from Jersey."

Like a true New Yorker, he'd caught me. Perplexed, I tried to find out what gave me away. "How'd you know?" I asked.

He grinned. "No one's sheepish about living in New York."

I smiled too. He started the game again, and we went for a minute in quiet, focusing on the TV screen.

"I graduated from Goode High," Percy said. "My step-dad's a teacher there."

"Cool," I said. "I might have well as lived in the city the past two years, I took the train over so much. Damn," I added as my character died.

"It's a great place," Percy commented, happy about killing me. "I've lived here with my mom all my life."

My player reformed, and I glanced at my roommate. "What about your dad?" I asked.

Something came over Percy's face. "I see him sometimes, but my mom got, you know, full custody."

"Oh," I said, realizing it was probably a touchy subject. With my happily married parents living in a suburb, it was strange to imagine having real family problems.

My mom was a worrier. She was the kind of person who would look up obscure diseases on the Internet and find out that one of us had one symptom-then we were in trouble. I was forced to gulp down some natural, dirt-flavored medicine supposed to prevent/cure this disease every morning until my dad reassured Mom that we were all perfectly healthy.

Being an only child, I was the only one to receive my mom's erratic health and diet plans(at least once a week I had something I couldn't pronounce in my dinner. "Oh, it's so good for your _various internal organ_!" My mother would exclaim as an explanation). Maybe if I'd had siblings her worried disposition would have been diluted, but I never got the chance to find out.

My dad was a comforter. His shoulder was always ready. He'd drop everything just so he could focus on your issues, giving you a sympathetic pat or offering some words of encouragement. I inherited some of this from him, which is why I think I'd be a good psychiatrist. It was this calming mindset my dad and I had that made our family able to function. Thank God I hadn't been born like my mom-I don't know what my dad would have done.

My parents met at a coffee shop. My mom had just been fired(her worrying made her a bit flighty-she wasn't good at focusing on one thing, especially work-related things) and was crying over her latte. My dad saw her and brought his coffee-bitter, with just a splash of milk-over to her table. It was then that the worry-comfort cycle started, and it had yet to end.

Percy and I moved on to other conversation subjects, and eventually went back to studying. Then someone knocked on the door.

Percy got up to answer the door. It was Jenna.

"Hi!" she said. "Can I come in?"

Percy opened the door all the way, and I quickly glanced around. Luckily, we hadn't had time to release _everything_ we owned onto the floor yet, so there was walking space. Jenna didn't seem to mind.

"What's up?" I asked as she looked around the room. She turned to me.

"Oh, actually, I just came over to invite you guys to this party my friend's having. She has an apartment in town, and she's having a sort of…housewarming party, I guess. Anyway, it should be a lot of fun, and she told me to invite other people too. It's this Saturday at eight. Do have something I could write on, to give you the address?"

I handed her the notebook I was taking notes on, and a pencil. She flipped the page and wrote something down.

"So, do you guys think you can come?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, sounds good."

Percy agreed.

"Okay, cool! I'll see you guys Saturday, then!"

She left the room and I watched after her. Percy closed the door.

"Excited?" I asked. "Our first college party."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, it should be fun."

The fact that it was in an apartment probably put it a cut above most college parties, which was nice. However, it would still consist of a large group of young adults getting together, probably with alcohol involved, which never ends well. For Jenna's friend's sake, I hoped she was really ready to break in her apartment.

* * *

So...you're gonna go review, right? 'Course you are. And then you're going to tell your awesome, Percy-loving friends about this story. Right?  
I love you for reading. I really do. I wish I could give you all a big hug. Here - *cyberhug* That's the best I can do.

Keep reading!

Love, Jenna.


	3. Party

Hello!  
Here's chapter three! Yay!  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Chrissyissy, that's such a compliment! I feel super special. Matthew, if you're reading this, you're a beast.  
So...read!

* * *

On Saturday, we went to the party with Jenna and her roommate, Joslyn. Joslyn appeared to be the opposite of Jenna-instead of tall, angular and blonde, Joslyn was short, rounded and had dark, pin-straight hair. As we walked to the subway on our way to the party, however, Percy and I discovered that they were very similar, mentally. Both of them were going for a degree in literature. They both planned on being novelists. They'd gone to high school together and had shared a locker for three years. And they had an innumerable amount of inside jokes.

Most people might find it annoying that on the twenty-minute trip to the apartment complex, Jenna and Joslyn burst out laughing(for no reason apparent to us) six times, but I personally thought it was cute. You could tell they were great friends.

The building we faced was made of brick, one of the older ones in the neighborhood. Jenna buzzed for number 3, and we waited on the doorstep. After a few seconds we heard footsteps on stairs, and then one of the doors opened. A girl blonde, magenta-streaked hair stood there. She grinned when she saw us.

"Jenna! Joslyn!" She squealed.

"Tyler!" Jenna yelled in response. They hugged, and then Joslyn and Tyler hugged. Once the embracing was done, Percy and I were introduced.

Tyler was another high school friend of the girls'. They had all moved to the city from California. Tyler wasn't going to the same university as us, but she was still in college at the city, and with the help of her mom, she'd gotten an apartment.

We began up the stairs, single file. Jenna and Tyler were talking.

"I'm so excited, Ty," Jenna said. "This apartment is the beginning of all our aspirations."

"I know," Tyler said. "Wait 'til you see it. Once we save up enough money we can get one big enough for all three of us."

I turned around and grinned at Percy. He grinned back.

Once we got up to the residence(which was pretty nice), we began helping Tyler do some last-minute setup for the party, since we were the first guests. More people began arriving, and I recognized one or two of them from my classes, but it looked like most were from a different school. Since Joslyn and Jenna were in the same boat we were-not knowing anyone-they stuck with us, which was cool.

"So, you guys are from California?" I asked Jenna.

She nodded, taking a sip of her soda. "From a little town north of Sacramento."

"Why'd you come to New York?"

Jenna laughed. "Why not? Actually, Jos and I went on an eighth grade trip here, and we just loved it. Then we both got accepted to the college…so we figured we'd go for it."

"That's really cool," I said. "I'm glad you went for it."

She smiled. "Where did you grow up?"

I figured I should just give up. "New Jersey," I told her.

"That's cool." She said sincerely. "Did you come into the city a lot?"

"I did, actually. Since growing up in Jersey isn't exactly what I'd call 'cool'."

Jenna raised her eyebrow. "Why not?"

I shrugged. "It's New Jersey. What's so great about living there?"

Jenna shook her head slowly. "It shouldn't matter the _location_ you grew up in." She told me. "The quality of your childhood is what matters."

I looked at her for a moment. "I never thought of it that way," I said.

"Well, maybe you'd better start now," Jenna told me, with a big smile. Then she drained her soda and said, "I've got to go find Tyler. I'll be right back, okay?"

I nodded, and watched her walk off. Then I turned around and saw Percy talking to Joslyn, who was leaning against the wall. Somehow, Jenna and I had drifted from them. As I watched, Joslyn smiled at something Percy said, but Percy seemed distracted. He looked around, glancing out the window, and frowning. He said something to Joslyn and then started to walk away. Joslyn looked as confused as I felt.

"Hey, Chad." I turned around to see that Jenna was back.

"Hey," I said, looking over my shoulder once more for Percy, but he'd disappeared in the crowd.

"So, I was just wondering…" Jenna began, and I turned my attention back to her, trying to shake off the strange feeling I had.

___________

"Blackjack, now is _not_ the time," Percy said as he closed the glass door that led onto the tiny balcony.

_It is too the time, boss._ The flying horse replied as he hovered, flapping his wings.

"Blackjack, what are you doing here? Did you fly straight here? What if someone saw you?"

_Don't worry, boss, I was careful._

Percy ran his hand through his hair. "I think we have different definitions of 'careful'."

_Chiron wants you at camp ASAP, _Blackjack said with a whinny. _Hop on!_

"I'm not going anywhere with you, not now!" Percy said.

_Chiron said it was important._

Percy turned away from the horse and paced the length of the patio.

"I can't leave now," he decided. "But…I can meet you tonight. How's midnight? Can you find my dorm?"

_Sure, boss._

"Okay, I'll meet you behind the dorm at midnight. Okay?"

_I'll be there!_

"Good," Percy said, reaching over so he could pat Blackjack. "Lay low until then, got it? I don't want you spotted."

The horse agreed, and then flew off. Percy sighed and sat down on a bench and looked out on the small portion of the city he could see.

"Uh, Percy?"

He looked up to see Joslyn in the doorway. "You alright?"

"Yeah," He said, turning back to the city lights. "Just needed some air."

_If only_, Percy thought.

* * *

Yeah! Blackjack!  
I wrote this chapter instead of writing an English essay, so I'd better get to that...hopefully I'll do some more writing and update soon.  
You rock! Go review! ....Yeah!


	4. Midnight

Badda boom, badda bing-chapter four! Thanks so much for waiting, I won't make ya wait more. Here!

* * *

We left the party around eleven thirty, which was when Tyler started kicking people out, wanting her apartment back. It had been surprisingly kosher for a college party. Not that I'd been to any before, but I watch movies, you know?

I gave Jenna my jacket because she'd forgotten hers(In New York, at night, during fall. California must have some really nice weather if she didn't think to bring a coat.). We didn't talk much, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Finally we got back on campus, found our way to the dorms, and parted way at their front door.

We were pretty wiped, so we hit the sack right away. Let me bring up now that I'm a really light sleeper. I used to wake up just when the rain would hit our roof at my house. So though I was pretty exhausted, I awoke when I heard someone shuffling around. Without sitting up, I listened. In the dim light from the lamp outside our window I could see Percy rifling through his dresser.

"Pants with pockets…" he muttered.

Upon hearing this, I figured I was dreaming, so I turned over and tried to get back to sleep.

Within a minute or so, however, I heard more shuffling, so I rolled back over and propped myself up. Percy was picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. Then he headed for the door. Extremely confused, I sat up all the way.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

Percy whirled around. "Nothing." He said. "I'll be back later. Get some sleep."

"Uh, no thanks." I said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm, uh…studying."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Look, it doesn't matter. I told you, I'll be back later."

I began sitting up straighter. "Then let me come with you," I said.

"No way. Just go back to sleep, man."

I pulled off my blanket and swung my legs off the bed. "Yeah, way. I'm coming whether you like it or not."

"You can't do that," Percy told me, with an edge to his voice. However, I ignored it and soldiered on.

"Yeah, I can."

"Why?" There was a challenge in his voice.

"Because," I said, glaring, "I thought we were friends. And this is not a stunt a friend would pull."

Percy stared back at me, but I saw a chink in his armor. He glanced at the clock, which read midnight. Then he sighed.

"I don't have time to fight you on this, so I'll bring you. But you have to swear-on your life-that you don't ever say anything about whatever happens."

He made it sound serious and kinda scary, but I couldn't really back down now. I got up, pulled on some jeans and grabbed my coat-I'd forgotten to get my jacket back from Jenna-and slipped on my shoes. Percy walked out the door, and I followed him.

He walked out of our dorm, down the hallway and to the fire escape. Our campus was pretty old and the dorms were original buildings, so the emergency exit doors didn't have any alarms installed. This, of course, caused all kinds of trouble for the campus police, since it was super easy to sneak out. Percy opened the door and I followed him out, shutting it quietly behind me. We quickly made our way down the fire escape that spidered its way down the dorm building, peeking into each floor as we neared the ground. When we got all the way down, Percy turned to go around the back of the building. My mind racing, thinking of what on earth could be going on, Percy sighed and sped up. Then I heard him say, softly, "You've been waiting fifteen minutes, tops. You're exaggerating."

I thought about asking Percy who he was talking to-because it sure wasn't _me_-but decided instead to keep my mouth shut.

Then Percy stopped in front of something. My eyes were still adjusting to the dark, so I couldn't quite make things out. But…was that some sort of animal? It sure _looked_ like one. What was an animal doing out here? I rubbed my eyes and watched as it slowly dawned on me that Percy was petting a horse. A horse? Yep, it definitely had a horse-y look. But what-how-_why_? My mind was having difficulty processing this.

"Now, what's the problem at camp?" Percy asked. I didn't answer. I was so confused.

"Hmm," Percy said. Finally I opened my mouth.

"Percy, is that a _horse?_"

He turned around, as if just remembering I was there. He sighed. "Actually, it's a pegasus."

"A-a what?" I asked.

"A horse with wings. Remember how you swore not to say anything about tonight?"

"Uh, yeah," I said vaguely.

"Well, it's gonna get worse." Then he swung himself up onto the horse-pegasus?-and looked down on me. "You coming, or not?"

I stared at him, and then down at the horse, whose…wings I could now see folded up. Oh my god. Oh my GOD.

Then I thought about my options. I could go back into the dorm, fall asleep and believe this whole thing to be a dream…

But let's face it. I _had_ to know what was going to happen next.

So I stepped forward, and Percy held his hand out. With a little help from him, I managed to get onto the, er, pegasus behind Percy. I'd only been horse riding a few times, as a kid, and I'm sure that this was bound to be different, so I was slightly worried. Percy was talking to the animal. "You'll be fine, Blackjack. I didn't either. We're not that heavy. Now come on, didn't Chiron need us quickly? I'll deal with it then. Okay."

And then the horse's black wings began to unfold and expand. Two dark, raven-like wings stuck out with a wingspan of, well, a lot. And then they began to flap, bringing us skyward.

"Woah," I said, grabbing onto the first thing I could-which was the end of one of the wings.

"Let go," Percy said without even turning around. So instead, I tightened my legs around the pegasus and grabbed Percy's shoulders. In any other situation this might be embarrassing, but you have no idea how little I cared about my pride at that point. I was more worried about falling and breaking every bone in my body, and what would my parents think if I died? And I'd never even gotten my jacket back from Jenna…

Then I actually did look down, and let me tell you-it was cool. The whole city of New York was below us, lit up and alive. I loved the city at night. And now an aerial view! If I weren't in danger of plunging to my death, this would actually be quite enjoyable. I closed my eyes, though, because we were picking up speed and the wind was cold and stinging. Occasionally I heard Percy muttering things, seemingly to the pegasus, but I ignored them and instead concentrated on not falling.

Finally I felt us descending, and I opened my eyes as we landed on the side of a hill. We were out in the country now, where I couldn't be sure. Outside of the city's brightness you could see the stars a lot better. They were scattered against the dark sky, and I looked up at them as I slid off the horse. And almost fell over.

My legs were super stiff. I stretched out my right one and bit down on my lip, trying to ignore the pain. Walking would be a pain.

"Percy!" I heard someone yell. I looked up to the top of the hill, and next to this giant pine tree-stood the chick from Percy's picture. Annabeth.

She sprinted down to us, catching Percy up in a hug. Then she turned to me.

"And who is _this_?" She asked, and not in a welcoming way.

"My roommate," Percy said.

Annabeth looked at me some more. "Really, Percy? That is so like you, to bring a tagalong! Now what are we going to do?"

I looked straight back at her. "Annabeth, right? Nice to meet you." I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

She ignored me. "Come on, Chiron and Mr. D are waiting in the Big House." She turned around then, and began her way back up the hill, with an angry gait.

The pegasus made a whinnying noise, and Percy said, "Go ahead, Blackjack."

The horse flew up and headed the same way Annabeth did.

"Nice girl, that Annabeth. A real catch," I told Percy. He sighed.

"Come on," He said, starting after his girlfriend. I followed him. Once we got to the pine tree(which I gave a wide girth, because it looked like a snake was curled around it) I tried to walk forward, but couldn't. It was like an invisible wall was there. Percy walked right through it.

"Oh," He said, seeing me struggle. "I, Percy Jackson, give permission for Chad Foster to enter the camp."

The wall disappeared. I stumbled forward, and then looked up.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Chad." Percy said to me.

* * *

I've been sick but I finally got this out!  
"I'm not watching Jangles the Space Monkey, and I'm SO glad."  
Only about two of you will get that.

Okay! Review, love you, bye! Jenna


	5. The Camp

Hehe, I wrote this like five days ago and I guess I forgot to post it...sorry! Here, read it now!

* * *

"I don't like this. Not at all. I know of your history of…discrepancies, Peter, but this is unheard of. Bringing a mortal to camp? And I'm sure this one can't even see through the Mist."

Percy sighed and looked at the mousy man. "Look, I had to bring him. He swore he wouldn't say anything about what happens."

The man took a sip of his Diet Coke and rolled his eyes. "Mortals are unpredictable and distrustful."

"It's not my fault you don't like mortals, Dionysus." Percy said, and it seemed like everything got more intense. I, however, couldn't stand it anymore.

"You guys know I'm standing right here?" I asked.

"Shh!" Annabeth shushed me, which was the first thing she'd said to me all night.

"Please, can we move on to the matter at hand?" Asked the man named Chiron, who wasn't really a man at all. You know those supposedly mythical creatures, centaurs? A man from the waist up, and a horse from the waist down. Chiron was a centaur. The majority of his body was that of a white stallion. So much for mythical. I guess flying horses are supposed to be mythical too, and that Dionysus character just made a new can of soda, and by made I really mean _made_, as in he waved his hand and one appeared. So maybe a centaur really isn't the strangest part of my night.

"What _is_the matter at hand?" Percy asked, turning to face Chiron.

"In West Virginia, there's a gathering of monsters and half-bloods. It came to our attention, so we sent some satyrs to see what was going on. Apparently, they're meeting and preparing to charge the camp. Undoubtedly this is some sort of anti-gods rally, though our spies were unable to discern the reason these demigods disliked their parents so. Regardless, they're going to attack within weeks. While it's nothing compared to the battle of Manhattan, we wanted some veterans on hand to help out. Will you two be on call?"

I was still trying to make sense of most of his sentences, so I was distracted while Annabeth began, for lack of a better word, prattling.

"Within weeks? I'll need to know which week. I can't just leave school dilly-dally. In fact, I have a project due on Monday which I haven't finished…but if you can tell me when they're a few days away from camp, I can get away for a few days, I'm sure."

Chiron looked to Percy, who said, "I'm here all the time."

The centaur nodded. "I'm glad that's settled. You two may return to school for now."

Annabeth sighed. Then the three of us left, saying goodbye to Chiron but ignoring Dionysus.

Annabeth was out of there fast, walking towards the huge pine tree with her arms crossed. Percy jogged to catch up with her. I watched him put his arm around her and say something I could hear. She replied, and let her arms drop to her sides. I could see Percy smiling.

Then three pegasuses landed in front of them. Pegasi, I suppose. Anyway, Percy and Annabeth stopped, and Percy patted the black one on the back. I caught up with them.

"I'd better get going," Annabeth said, hoisting herself onto the light brown flying horse. "I guess I'll see you in a little." Then she turned to me. "Um, bye, Chad."

She leaned down to kiss Percy's forehead, and then the pegasus took to the air and began to disappear in the night.

"Come on," Percy said, getting onto the black horse. I turned to the white and brown spotted one that was looking at me, and mounted it. I held onto to its neck pretty dang tight as we ascended. But once we were up, I opened my eyes and looked down at the city that began to unfold once we crossed the river. I smiled.

"This is _awesome_." I yelled to Percy. He turned his head to look at me and nodded. I looked back down at the lights reflecting off the water.

We seemed to get back to the dorms much faster than we'd left them. We said goodbye to the horses(which Percy could apparently talk to) and made our way back up the fire escape. We got back to 219 and I fell down onto my bed, suddenly very tired.

Did that all seriously just happen?

I slept until eleven the next day, and when I got up Percy was gone. At first I didn't give it thought, but then I slowly remembered the events of the previous night.

Percy was gone. Where was he? What if he'd gone back to the camp? What if the monsters had gotten him? I didn't really know anything about this world Percy had shown me last night, but the fact that he was missing did _not_ seem like a good sign.

Then the door opened, and I leaped up, bracing myself for…I don't know what.

Percy's dark-haired head poked around the door, and then the rest of his body entered the room. He smiled at me.

"I bought you a cappuccino," he said, holding up one of two coffee cups he was holding. "You owe me a buck fifty."

I didn't know which I should comment on first-that he'd scared the crap out of me, or that he'd found a place that sold cappuccinos for that cheap.

"Thanks," I said cautiously, instead of either.

"No problem. I have to go over some lectures, so I'm gonna be in here for a while."

I nodded, sipping my coffee. Good for one-fifty.

Percy headed to the table he used as an all-purpose desk and pushed some stuff aside. I watched him for a moment, then went and sat on my bed, opening my laptop.

Something irked at my memory. I thought about last night. Not much of it made sense, but of course I'd sworn to secrecy. Not that I was planning on telling anyone-especially while I didn't understand it.

I opened Google, remembering what had been bothering me. The name Dionysus sounded familiar. And really, how many people named 'Dionysus' could there be?

So I typed it in and pressed enter. I actually spelled it wrong the first time(not surprising, right?), but after I clicked on the correction, it came up with over a million hits. The first, of course, was Wikipedia. I chose that link.

The article explained that Dionysus was a Greek god. It described him as the god of wine and ecstasy, and as "the god that comes". Avoiding all jokes possible, I scrolled down the page, but I'd really learned all I needed to know. Basically, I'd been conversing with a divine being the previous night.

Technically, he'd never spoken to me, so I guess that's not true.

But still. Sounds insane, right? It is. I should've been seeing a therapist for even having such thoughts legitimately.

Except that I'd ridden a _flying horse_. And that's kind of hard to ignore.

I looked up at Percy, innocently squinting at a textbook. I cleared my throat, deciding something needed to be said. He apparently didn't hear me.

"Percy," I said.

He didn't look up. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He put down his pencil and turned around to face me. "Yeah?"

I looked at my computer screen, and then back at my roommate.

"Mr. D. Dionysus. For real?"

Percy stared at me. "What do you mean?" he asked, but he wasn't a very good actor.

"Percy, I know I'm not supposed to ask about last night. But if I was standing next to a freaking _god_ can I at least know about it?"

Percy suddenly became very interested in his sneakers. "Look," he said, still staring at the floor. "You saw that they were mad. Can we keep this on a need-to-know basis?"

I stared once again at the photograph of a Greek statue on my laptop screen. "Need-to-know." I said. "I guess…I can deal with that."

Percy looked up at me and smiled slightly. I grinned back, and turned back to my computer.

* * *

So, what do you think? Chad's being awfully calm about this, huh? Maybe there's something wrong with him. What else could it be?  
Next chapter: Development between Chad and yours truly! I love writing stories with me in them!  
And more Percy-related, awesome Greek stuff.

Oh! In English, we're starting the Odyssey. It's so cool because I get to read about Greek mythology for SCHOOL! The part that made me super mad though, was that my teacher kept using the Roman names. I was like, "What are you talking about?! It's POSEIDON, not NEPTUNE!!!!!"

And he insists that Calypso is a goddess, but Joslyn and I agree that she's just an immortal daughter of a Titan. Right?

Anyway, you guys all rock my socks off! Except that I'm not wearing socks, I'm wearing pajamas. Anyway...

Review and favorite and tell your friends so I can become famous, and then recognize you guys as the people who started my career. :D

Lots of love, Jenna!


	6. Planning

Sorry this is kinda short, you know why? Because I wrote it all TONIGHT. Uh-huh. I got home from hanging out with Joslyn and had a crapload of emails telling me all the reviews I had, and I felt so special that I wanted to write more! You guys are the best ever. Here's chapter 6!

* * *

**Chad**

"Hey, Chad!"

I turned, hearing my name. Of course, in a school this size it was entirely possible that it was for someone else, or I'd misheard entirely.

However, when I slowed my steps and turned around, I saw the Jenna was waving, and heading my way. I stopped, waiting for her.

"Hey, Jenna." I said once she'd reached me.

"Hi!" she replied brightly. "What's up?"

"Just going to class," I told her, shrugging.

"Well, first I wanted to say that I have your jacket, so you need to come by our dorm to pick it up. And can I have your number?"

I smiled. "Sure, what for?"

She looked at me for a second. "Um, so I can text you if I want to talk or hang out?"

That sounded promising, so I recited my number while she took out her cell phone and punched it in.

"I'll come by tonight for my jacket, okay?" I said as she pocketed the phone.

"Awesome," she said, grinning. Then we parted ways, and I glanced at the digital watch on my wrist. I was going to be late for class.

I didn't mind much.

**Annabeth**

"Annabeth, fancy seeing you here."

Annabeth clutched her pencil much tighter, and took a deep breath, telling herself not to let it get to her. Then she looked up.

"Actually, Watson, I'm here pretty often."

"As am I," Watson said, sitting down across the table from Annabeth. "What a coincidence. The library's a lovely place…nearly as lovely as you, I'd say."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm studying. Could you leave me alone?"

Watson sighed and took off his square glasses, showing off his deep brown eyes. "Oh, Annabeth…I grow tired of this. The banter, the back-and-forth, it's wonderful, but let's cut to the chase."

"Oh, just cut to the chase?" she asked. She closed her book, picked up her pencil and stood, then said as loud as she dared under the supervision of librarians, "You're just an egotistical, brainiac brat with a thick skull. So before I file a restraining order, please leave me alone!"

Then she turned on her heel and began to walk out, thinking perhaps she could find somewhere else to read. Watson called after her with the confident voice he always used. "There are no logical grounds for that restraining order, darling. You'll come around."

One of the old librarians shushed him, but he could have cared less. Red with rage, Annabeth practically ran out of the building.

She took a few deep breaths as she hit the cool, East-coast air. "I just have to ignore him," she told herself quietly. "He feeds off of my chagrin. I have to stay collected."

She sighed, taking a path that would lead her to her dorm building. She figured Tora and Zoe would both be out somewhere, since it was after seven PM. That would leave her with the dorm to herself to study and fume in.

The thing about Watson, she thought, is that she probably would've been totally in love with him, as a good portion of Yale was, if she hadn't already been taken. He was brilliant, witty, confident, attractive, and wealthy. What's not to like?

Of course, _she's_ the girl he chooses to go after. The one female in the architecture department that doesn't love him, single or not.

_We're too old for this,_ Annabeth thought. This is what you see in chick flicks set in high school. They'd graduated and matured, hadn't they? Why did he continue to pester her?

Both of her roommates were, indeed, gone, so Annabeth could read in peace. Tora and Zoe were nice enough girls, and smart too, but considerably loud and definitely out for the 'college experience'. It irritated Annabeth at times-why go to an Ivy League school to drink and smoke for thousands of dollars a year, when you could do it for free at a community college? She supposed that was how most of today's politicians were at universities, however.

She set her things down on her desk and picked up her water bottle, taking a long sip. Then she sat down and glanced at her picture of Percy. Along with a framed photo of her dad, it was one of the few really personal things that showed in her room. She pushed Watson's antics out of her mind and smiled, thinking of Percy and all the memories they had together. She almost longed to be called to battle by Chiron, since it surely meant she'd be in the City for a few days.

She picked up her pencil and returned to her rudely interrupted notes.

**Aleka**

Aleka stared at the map in her hands. She knew it would be difficult to get in through the forest, but also that they'd have much more of a surprise factor if they managed it. However, she didn't want her troops to have to fight off monsters along with campers, which posed a problem…

"Aleka?" she heard. Looking up, she saw one of her soldiers holding open the flap of her tent.

"Come in," she told him, folding the map of Camp Half-Blood. The boy walked in, and was followed by another. They both looked slightly nervous in her presence.

"According to our sources, miss," said the smaller and scrawnier of the two boys, "Chiron seems 'twitchy and apprehensive', but has not yet announced anything. He has, however, added more combat training to all camper's schedules, and they are all quite suspicious."

Aleka nodded. "Very well. And you?" she said to the other boy, who was dark skinned and broad shouldered.

"There are…a great number of campers, miss. And while many are inexperienced, there are quite a few that we'll need to be wary of, for they've been training for a long time."

"Thank you for the report," Aleka said curtly, and began to unfold her map again, a clear dismissal for the boys.

However, they didn't leave. The dark one spoke up again. "Ma'am, I'm sorry to tell you that, granted the numbers, I'm questioning our chances in the battle."

Aleka let out a short, sharp breath and put down the map again. She turned to the boys.

"Have I not made it clear," she said in a strained tone, "that this battle will be the first of many victories?"

"I apologize, Aleka, but I don't see how-"

"You have no faith!" Aleka raised her voice, and both boys cringed back. "The gods-our own parents-are on our side. They will give us the strength and wisdom to defeat Camp Half-Blood."

"Excuse me, miss," said the scrawny boy. "But isn't the camp _run_ by the gods?"

Aleka shook her head in disappointment. "Even they can see that it has been overrun, corrupted. It is no longer a useful tool. The time for demigods to take their rightful place in society has come, and if you aren't with me," she looked slowly from one boy to the other, "then go ahead and fight me."

After a moment of silence, the bigger boy spoke again. "But, ma'am, have you _spoken_ with the gods about this?"

Aleka pounded her fist on the small table next to her. "No more questions!" she yelled. "I was the one who left my home and fought off countless monsters to bring you all here, and this is the treatment I get? This is my respect? The gods understand what you do not. Do you want to live like the royalty you are, or don't you?"

The boys looked at eachother, and then both muttered a "Yes, miss."

"Then you are _dismissed_!" Aleka spat at them. "I don't want to see you around. Make yourself scarce for a few days."

They nodded and left the tent. Angry, Aleka left the map and began pacing. She needed to regain control on her followers. If they started to doubt, they would not fight as well. Though she was sure they would win the battle, she did not want to take any chances, and therefore wanted soldiers who strongly believed in their cause. She walked over to her torn duffle bag, with the embroidered name 'Ally' crossed out in heavy marker, and pulled out a notebook and pencil. She sat down in the folding chair next to the table and began writing, composing a speech she would declare to her troops the next day. She needed their blood rushing with affection for her and what she stood for. She needed to once again rouse their spirits about living a better life. And so she wrote.

* * *

Oh, snap. Who's this Aleka chick, huh? And Watson? XD So much fun to write about Annabeth being pissed.

JazzPotato67, thanks for the definition! I guess I was just too lazy to get it myself. I'll bug my teacher about it or something.

And about Chad seeing through the Mist:  
He has what I'm calling an 'open mind', so he believes in some stuff and therefore sees it, but not everything is immediately clear to him. He's definitely not on the level of, say, Rachel.

Hey! I should put Rachel in this story! I just gave myself an idea!

Okay, so, you guys are the awesomest readers ever! Keep reviewing and spreading the word and being generally amazing!

Jenna :)


	7. Revolution

Chapter Seven! Thanks you guys for reviewing! I tried to make this one longer, because I know that's what you guys want. Gimme some feedback!

* * *

**Chad**

I was surfing the Internet one night when the door opened and Percy came in. He'd been out when I got back from the movie Jenna and I went to, and I hadn't thought much of it. As I glanced at him, however, I realized maybe I should have.

His face was pale and he had his dark jacket clutched around him tightly. He hurried in, and was slightly bent at the waist, like he was in pain.

"Uh, Percy?" I asked.

"I'm fine," he replied in a slightly strained voice. He walked over to his side of the room, taking no care to avoid stepping on things. He stopped in front of the mirror propped against one wall, the only one we had in the dorm. We hadn't taken the time to hang it up, so it just leaned against the wall. To see anything above your chest you had to bend over, which made it kind of a pain.

As I watched, Percy took off his jacket carefully, and then pulled off his shirt tenderly. From my bed, I could see the reflection of his chest.

"Oh my _God!_" I yelped, jumping up. "What the hell happened?"

I walked over to him, and he grimaced. "Chill out," he told me. "It isn't that bad."

"Not that _bad_?" I asked, shocked. "Are you _kidding _me?"

Across Percy's torso, starting a few inches below his collarbone and continuing diagonally nearly to his belly button was a bleeding gash. It was one of the gnarliest injury's I'd ever seen, probably coming in second after the time when Mike Potts slid into third base during a sixth-grade Little League game, hit a rock on the way, and scraped the back of his calf down to the bone. Luckily he hadn't ripped open an artery, but there was blood _everywhere_, and about six emergency vehicles showed up to the baseball field.

Percy examined his wound in the mirror with a sort of clinical detachment, like he was used to seeing such injuries. When he straightened a bit to talk to me, however, he gasped slightly in pain.

"Can you go into my duffel bag and look for the black water bottle?" he asked. I nodded and hurried over to his bag. I pushed clothes and papers and CD cases aside until I spotted a black bottle. I picked it up and brought it to Percy, who had lowered himself onto his bed.

He took it from me and unscrewed the top. I watched him take two gulps, then carefully put the top back on and set down the bottle. After drinking whatever was in the bottle, he looked much less pale, and I noticed that his cut stopped bleeding so much.

"What is that?" I asked, nodding towards the bottle. Percy shook his head.

"Nectar. But it doesn't matter. Do we have any gauze bandage?"

We didn't, of course. So I jogged to the building's nurse.

"How can I help you, hon?" The woman with graying-brunette hair asked. She was really soft looking, not like one of the hard-ass nurses I always got stuck with when I went to the doctor's.

"Do you have any gauze bandage? My roommate, uh, fell off his skateboard. It's pretty nasty."

The nurse smiled. "Sure thing. Do you need tape for the bandage too?"

I nodded. She opened a drawer behind the desk and handed me a box and a roll of medical tape. "Tell your roommate to heal fast, alright?" she added as I turned away. I assured her I would, and then pretty much ran back to 219.

I helped Percy cover his chest with this gigantic pad of gauze, and then tape it down. He took a baggie of something out of his bag and took a bite. He looked visibly better afterwards. I figured it was one of those need-to-know things.

His shirt was trashed, so we just threw it away. Finally, we both sat down on our respective beds.

"Okay," I began. "What _happened_?"

Percy sighed. "I just had a little run-in with a hellhound. No big deal."

I gaped at him for a moment. "Hellhound?" I asked. "No big _deal_?"

"Yeah," he replied. He shrugged, but then winced a bit as it pulled on his cut. "The hellhound's a lot worse off than I am. He won't be reforming for a while."

I wondered briefly whether I should even _try_ to understand what he'd said. But my curiosity, as usual, got the best of me.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked him.

He sighed. "I was in the city. I went to see my mom. Then I was walking back, and I kinda spaced out. Took a wrong turn or two. Ended up in a sketchy-looking alleyway…and a hellhound jumped out from behind a dumpster. Luckily I had Riptide on me, and this was the only shot that mutt had." He finished, glancing down at his bandaged torso.

"Riptide?" I asked, which I admit was probably the _least_ peculiar thing about his explanation. "And why was this…hellhound after you?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Hades' pets are always after me. That's the way it happens with…people like me."

There was a pause while I considered this.

"And Riptide is my, uh, weapon."

"Can I see it?" I asked. Nerd that I am, I wanted to see a real-life combat weapon. God, I have to stop playing warfare videogames.

Percy sighed, reached into his front pocket, and pulled out…a pen.

"That's a pen." I pointed out when he held it up. It wasn't even a nice pen. It would've cost me thirty cents at Staples.

"It's a lot more than what it might seem," Percy told me.

I just stared at him. "Percy. That. Is. A. Pen."

He grinned, and then pulled off the cap.

The air seemed to shimmer for a moment, and my vision went blurry. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times.

When I looked back at Percy, he was holding a long, bronze-colored sword.

"Holy _crap_!" I said, jumping up. "How did that happen?"

He raised his eyebrow. "Seriously?" he asked. "After everything you've seen, this is the most surprising?"

I didn't answer his question. Instead I gaped at the sword some more. "You carry that around with you?"

"Yep. I need to be prepared."

My roommate carried around a sword. A concealed weapon.

Does it send up red flags that I was jealous of him?

**Aleka**

"Ally, stop this. What's happened?"

"Do not call me Ally," Aleka said in a voice bordering on dangerous.

"Oh, that's right-what was it you wanted to be called?"

"My name is Aleka," the commander said. "It's a proper name for someone like me. It's Greek, and it means-"

Aleka's mother cut her off. "Honey, what is going _on_ with you? I just don't understand. You had so much going for you! You're a pretty girl, you're smart, you were so popular before you left! Why did you go, honey? Why did you leave me and your friends?"

"They are not my _friends!_" Aleka yelled. As usual, she was frustrated with her mother. "They are not equal to me! Why can't you _see _this, Mother? I am the daughter of a god. The golden ichor of Olympus runs through my veins! I am above mortals. You are too, Mom! You're the lover of a Greek god! Don't you think you deserve to be treated accordingly?"

Aleka's mom laughed. "_Was_ the lover a god, hon, as your many half-siblings can attest to. I don't deserve anything more than I have. And honey, what is all this talk of being so important? You are important. Come home, and you'll see. Everyone loves you here!"

Aleka snorted. "I don't want to be _loved_. I want to be acknowledged. I want to be obeyed. In ancient times-"

"Ally-or, ah, Alika. I get it. You're not coming home. I'll call you again later, okay? And if you want to talk, or you miss any of us here, just call, okay?"

Aleka unclenched her jaw. "Goodbye, Mother."

"I love you."

Aleka hung up, and then resisted the urge to through the cell phone across the tent. Instead, she set it down and went to sit in her chair, seething.

"Commander Aleka?" someone outside the tent inquired.

"Enter," Aleka called in an irritated voice.

The tent unzipped, and one of Aleka's commanding officers walked in. He politely bowed his head at her, and then waited.

"Well, Andrew?" she asked. "What do you have to report?"

"Training is going well," he said. "Nearly all of our soldiers are trained well. However, our shortage of weapons is problematic."

Aleka sighed, and rubbed her temple. "Have you looked into the nearby museums?" she asked.

Andrew nodded. "There was little Greek, and even then it was nothing in shape for fighting. Miss-if I may?"

Aleka liked Andrew, so she gave him permission to speak his mind.

"I don't think we can win this battle using only Greek weapons. We're going to have to bring in some more modern, or at the very least different, arms if we're going to stand a chance."

Aleka's fist clenched, but she controlled her voice. "I understand your concern, but we cannot fight with anything beneath us. We deserve proper weapons, and we will get them, the gods help us. Pray to your parent, Andrew, and do not worry too much."

Andrew scuffed his feet. "Yes, ma'am."

"In ancient times, demigods were revered above mere humans, and such it will be again. Do not doubt it."

"Of course not, Commander."

Aleka granted him leave, and only seconds after Andrew left the tent, someone else spoke from outside the tent.

"Excuse me, Commander?"

"Come in," she said.

A young, pale girl with dark brown hair walked in.

"Ah, Pearl."

"Good afternoon, Miss."

Aleka smiled. "What have you to tell me?"

She bowed her head. "Iakovos attacked Percy Jackson, but did not succeed in doing very much damage to him."

Aleka frowned. "Iakovos? The hounds have names?"

Pearl bit her lip. "Yes, ma'am. Iakovos was…dear to me."

"Was?" Aleka had not missed the change of tense.

"Percy Jackson killed him. Apparently he had his sword with him, concealed. I am deeply sorry, ma'am."

Aleka rested her head in her hands for a moment. Then she looked up and regained composure. "Can you get more demons?" she asked.

Pearl shrugged. "Surely I can ask my mother. Whether Hades will notice or allow it, I can't say…"

"Do your best," Aleka ordered. "I have not met nor dealt with Persephone, so I do not know how sympathetic she might be to our cause."

Pearl looked down at her boots. "Since it is autumn, Commander, my mom is not in one of her best moods…but she may help us, if only for excitement."

"Good," Aleka said. "And it is better than winter, I suppose. Contact her as soon as possible, so we can retrieve more monsters for our cause. We still need to take care of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. It will be more dangerous if they are present at the battle."

"Yes, ma'am." Pearl responded respectfully. Aleka grinned and excused her.

Once the camp was quiet, Aleka took out her matches and lit a small fire in a bowl. She pulled a packet of beef jerky out of her red, beat-up duffle bag and burned a piece.

"For you, Father." she said. "Assist us. Your greatness will be lived out in me. If only you grant us help in the way of weapons and training, I will be the first hero of Ares in thousands of years. No longer mind the Big Three-their time is over. With your aid we will begin a revolution, and I know how you love revolutions. Thank you, great father."

She let the fire burn out, and then sat in the dark for a while longer.

* * *

Ahh! What do you guys think of Aleka? Seriously, tell me. I want to know! Do you empathize with her? Or kinda just want to give her a whack?

Okay, I gotta tell you guys something! I'm currently read The Red Pyramid, which is by Rick Riordan! It's his newest book and it's AMAZING! Not as good as Percy Jackson, but pretty dang close! It's kind of the same thing, except with Egyptian gods. Read it! Here's one of my favorite parts so far:

"So you can't like in Manhattan?" she asked.  
Amos's brow furrowed as he looked across at the Empire State Building. "Manhattan has other problems. Other gods. It's best we stay seperate."  
"Other _what?_" Sadie demanded.  
"Nothing."

Haha! Go Manhattan!

Okay, please review! Love you all, Jenna!


	8. Victory and Defeat

Oh Gosh! I know, it's been a while. So I'll let you read the chapter and then leave a longer note at the end. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chad**

"Are you insane? I mean, clinically insane? Because what you're talking about is crazy."

I looked Percy straight in the eyes and said, "No, I'm not crazy. I mean it. I think I have the right to watch."

Percy put his head in his hands. "I don't get it, Chad. Couldn't you tell you weren't _wanted_ there?"

That stung more than I wanted him to know, so I dropped my gaze and took a sip of my soda. After a moment, Percy spoke again.

"It's just no place for a mortal. We don't know what kind of weapons or monsters they'll be packing. And don't you remember what Mr. D thought when you came last time? He doesn't like mortals. He doesn't like anyone, really, besides himself and a few nymphs. Oh, and Pollux. But that's beside the point. You're way to vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?" I said loudly, and then, remembering we were in a restaurant, lowered my voice. "How am I any more endangered than you?"

Percy smiled slightly. "I've been trained, Chad, and so has everyone at that camp. Not to mention that I'm…special."

"Special?" I asked.

"Yeah. Special."

I raised my eyebrow. "Does this have something to do with that cut, uh, healing so fast?" The hellhound wound was gone. I mean, completely gone. Percy didn't even have a scar.

"Yeah, something like that." Percy said, taking a bite of his burger.

"Is everyone…like you, special like that?"

Percy shook his head, grinning slightly. "No, just a very select few…in fact, as far as I know, I'm the only one alive."

I gaped at him for a second. "And why-"

"Hey," Percy said. "How bout we get back on subject. The subject of you _not _going to see the battle."

"Come on," I pleaded. "I'll stay out of the action. I can stay in the big farmhouse."

Percy sighed. "You can't predict a battle. They may storm the house. We don't know what we're up against. And therefore, you and any other mortals will be far away from the camp."

"But I-"

"Chad, just shut up. Final answer, got it?"

I was pretty pissed, so I stood up. "I'm going back to the dorm." I said. "I'll see you around."

I left the fast food joint and walked back to campus. I barely paid attention to where I was going as I walked to our dorm building. Why couldn't Percy see that I was _involved_ in this? I wanted to be there for the battle, even if I couldn't fight. It wasn't _fair_, dammit!

I threw my jacket on the floor and turned on the Xbox, planning on taking my anger out on virtual enemies. I play for about ten minutes before there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I called, too lazy to get up and answer the door.

"Chad?" a voice from outside asked. "It's Jenna."

"Come in!" I said. The door opened and she slipped in.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said. Then I gestured at the TV screen. "Wanna play?"

She glanced at the screen for a moment. "Nah, I'm no good at war games," she told me, shrugging. "If it were Brawl, that'd be a different story."

I looked at her for a moment. "You play _Brawl_?" I asked.

She grinned. "Yeah, I've got a Wii at home. My brother and I Brawled all the time."

"Were you any good?"

"I was alright. I pretty much own with Zelda and Pit."

"You're on," I told her. I reached over and pulled the battered case out of a box. "I haven't played it this school year."

And so Jenna and I played videogames for an hour. Percy came into the dorm room just as Jenna was leaving to go study with Joslyn. I sat down on my bed and began reading, coolly ignoring Percy. He didn't say anything to me, but stayed on his side of the room, and we remained that way for a while. I don't really remember how long-you know how time flies when you're on Facebook instead of doing homework. But after a bit of time, someone knocked on the door.

I got off my bed and walked up to the door, pulling it open.

On the other side stood a girl about my age with reddish, poofy hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing dirty jeans, a hoody and sneakers, and had an urgent look on her face. I had never seen her in my life.

"Hello, Chad." She said.

**Annabeth**

"Annabeth."

"No, you can't sit here." Annabeth told Watson sharply.

"I know you better than that. You're not so rude that you'll refuse a man a seat."

Annabeth lay down her fork and scoffed. _Sure, a 'man',_ she thought. Watson sat down without further adieu.

"You look worried," he said. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth chewed a mouthful of Caesar salad before answering. "I'm not worried.

Watson grinned. "Yes, you are, Annabeth. I can tell."

"You don't know me, Watson." She said. "You don't know anything about me, and you don't care whether I'm worried."

Watson leaned in, so his low voice could be hears over the noise of the university's cafeteria. "That's where you're wrong, Annabeth Chase. I _do_ care, and it frustrates me more everyday that you don't see it."

Their eyes met and locked for a few seconds. Then Annabeth stood up, grabbed her coat and bag and walked away.

As she left the cafeteria, she bumped into someone. Looking up, she saw a tall blonde girl glaring at her. Mumbling an apology, Annabeth slipped outside.

What Watson had said shocked her. He'd seemed so certain, so serious…He was much more devoted that Annabeth had thought.

She looked up and realized that she'd taken a wrong turn, and was now on a quiet path between two buildings. Sighing she sat down on a bench, letting her head slump forward a bit as she thought.

"Annabeth Chase," someone said in a tone completely unlike the way Watson's voice had uttered her name. Annabeth looked up.

Standing at the edge of the path was the blonde girl she'd seen in the cafeteria. But as Annabeth looked at the girl, her shape seemed to blur and fade…until her skin was almost completely devoid of color, her eyes were a sharp red, and her canine teeth extended past her lips. The girl took a step forward, and her right leg _clanged_ against the cement.

Annabeth cursed in Greek. "_Empousa_," she accused the girl, standing up.

The vampire grinned. "Yes, godling. I've come to kill you."

Annabeth almost laughed. "You're a cocky one. I've been through much worse. And I have to say…I don't like cockiness."

And then, angrily thinking of the whole situation, Annabeth pounced on the demon, pulling a celestial bronze dagger from her purse.

The vampire punched, but Annabeth dodged her arm and lunged forward with the knife. The _empousa_ knocked it away so that it scraped against her metal leg, making a horrid scratching noise. Advancing, the e_mpousa_tried to tackle Annabeth, but was much too slow and awkward. Annabeth was pushed over by her, but maneuvered so she was on top. The vampire girl hit Annabeth on the jaw before she could react. Pain blossomed in Annabeth's face, but she managed to drive the dagger into the girl's chest. She disappeared after a burst of flames.

Breathing heavily, Annabeth got up, grabbed her things from the bench, and began making her way to her dorm. Her vision was a bit spotty due to the pain on her left jaw.

_Time to call Percy,_ she thought.

**Chad**

"What are you _doing_ here?"

"Nice to see you too, Percy."

Percy ran his hand through his hair, frustrated.

The girl, Rachel, was sitting on Percy's bed, since the only chair we had in the dorm was for Percy's desk, and it was piled with laundry that we didn't have any other place to put. Percy was in front of her, looking annoyed. I was kind of floating in the background awkwardly. I didn't know whether to introduce myself or not, since she already knew my name.

"Look, Rachel, it's great to see you. Really. But why are you here? Don't you stay at camp most times now?"

Rachel grinned. "I can go on field trips. They don't own me."

"And of course, you choose to come here." Percy sighed.

She chuckled. "It was you or my parents, and you know how I love my dad." Then her voice became more serious. "I have something to tell you."

Percy straightened up. He was intrigued, but not enough to let the whole thing go. "And a simple phone call wouldn't have worked? Or maybe an Iris-message?"

Rachel laughed. "Right, IM you in here? Are you guys vampires or something? There's no light in here to make a rainbow."

I was confused as to why light had anything to do with IMing, but she had a point. The curtains were drawn, and the whole room was kind of dark. But not in a _bad_ way.

"Okay, fine." Percy said. "What do you need to tell me?"

Rachel took a deep breath. "Well, you know the battle that's going to happen. When those half-bloods attack camp."

"Which will be when, by the way?" Percy asked.

Rachel frowned. "Don't you start me on that. Chiron and Mr. D have been grilling me for information for weeks. I'm not a library help desk, you know. You can't just look something up, it doesn't work like that."

Percy rolled his eyes. Rachel continued with her explanation. "So this battle is going to happen. And you're gonna be there. And you need to bring Chad, here."

Percy blinked at Rachel. I stared at her too. Then Percy spoke. "What kind of joke is this?"

"No joke," Rachel said. "He's gotta be there."

Before Percy replied, I snapped out of my trance and threw my fist in the air. "Yeah!" I whooped.

"No!" Percy said to me, then turned back to Rachel. "What are you talking about? Chad's going to get himself killed if he's there."

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. So train him. But he needs to be there."

"_Why?_" Percy asked, sounding very desperate.

Rachel sighed. "I don't know. I really don't. But if he's not there, I have the feeling we're going to lose."

Percy scoffed. "We won't _lose_. We'll be fine."

Rachel looked at him in the eye. "Percy, you know better than to disregard my advice."

Percy was silent for a moment. The whole room was silent, except for the slight hum of my computer. Then Percy let his head fall into his hands.

"Fine." He muttered. "Chad can come."

"Woo!" I exclaimed. "Thanks, Rachel!"

She smiled. "Don't thank me. I'm just the messenger."

She confused me, but I figured I could ask Percy about it all later.

"This is going to be such a pain," Percy said. I ignored him.

Rachel sat up very straight then, and her eyes went sort of blank. After a moment, she was back to normal.

"The phone," she said.

And right then, Percy's cell phone began buzzing from the spot on his desk where it almost always resided, which I thought was weird.

"Better answer," Rachel said. "It'll be important if she's calling your cell."

Looking troubled, Percy strode over and picked it up. "Hello?" he said into it.

His face became more worried as he listened. "Are you all right?"

He grinned slightly at the answer. "Of course you did."

He listened some more, and then said, "Yeah. Rachel's here-I know, that's what I said. I'll explain it all later. Watch your back, okay? Hopefully this'll be all over soon."

He listened for a second longer. "You know what? That's a great idea. Nah, no one'll care. Tomorrow? Okay. I'll see you then. Love you."

He closed the phone. Rachel grinned.

"What was that?" I asked.

Percy sighed. "Annabeth was attacked. She's coming to stay with us until the battle."

I looked from him to Rachel.

"Um," I said. "Cool."

Percy sighed and Rachel smiled bigger.

Honestly? I was kind of scared for the time between tomorrow and the battle.

I guess it's illogical that I wasn't at all scared for the actual combat.

* * *

Okay guys. First off, I want to apologize for not updating in ages. I also want to apologize for that moronic oversight that was pointed out in the reviews-PERCY IS INVINCIBLE. I feel so bad for forgetting...*bead of sweat* I'm SORRY! I tried to fix it in this chapter, but it's still my own stupid mistake. Please forgive me!

Secondly, I want to say that you all rock! I got reviews and messages asking to update and finish the story. Don't worry! I will! I love this story, and I wouldn't leave you all hanging! But I love you guys so much for wanting me to finish it and for bugging me about it. I will not disappoint!

Basically, I just got super-busy and stressed, so I didn't really have time to write any. But now school is over, so I'll have tons of time on my hands, and I'll be writing almost everyday, which means I'll crank out chapters like crazy. So you'll get to read it!

I also want to let you know that I LOVE getting messages, so if you want to give me ideas or suggestions or ask questions or bug me about something or just say HI, that'd be awesome :) I won't ignore you because I love you.

Okay, until next time, love Jenna!

PS: I apologize for the formatting problems. There should be a bunch of line breaks between each POV, but it keeps disappearing...I'll try to keep on top of it.


	9. Arrival

Okay, so it's been a long time  
Please forgive me, and maybe enjoy this chapter?  
I love you all.

**

* * *

**

**Aleka**

"Ma'am?"

"Enter!"

A tall, skinny boy with dark hair entered the tent. He was grinning.

"Make it quick," Aleka said. "I am not in a good mood."

The boy bowed his head, and then straightened up. "Commander, one of our spies has contacted us through Iris-message."

Aleka waited for more, pulling some of her hair from her face.

"It appears that Annabeth Chase boarded a train for New York this morning."

Aleka sat up straighter and raised her eyebrow. "New York?"

"Yes, ma'am." The boy said, whose name Aleka could not remember. "We don't know exactly where she's headed, but-"

"Contact one of the spies in the city," Aleka ordered, an air of urgent power around her. "Station someone at the train station. Have them tell us immediately when they figure out where she's going."

The boy bowed his head again. "Yes, ma'am. I'm on it."

He left the tent, and Aleka stood up. After a moment of speculation, she walked out of her tent. In the large clearing there were many tents, and people milled around. Aleka walked to the edge of the clearing, right before the underbrush became very thick, and turned back into woods. There stood a tent that was very old, worn in places. Aleka walked in without asking permission.

There sat Pearl, her dark hair obscuring her face as she wrote in a small journal. Realizing someone had come in, she looked up and closed the book.

"Commander Aleka," she said, standing. "Hello."

Aleka nodded. "What has the progress been like with your mother?"

Pearl smiled slightly. "More monsters will be sent from the underworld in a few days' time."

Aleka thought for a moment. "We're going to need to dispatch some to New York once they arrive. Of course, a few halfbloods will accompany them. Would you like to be one of them?"

Pearl said she would, so Aleka gave her permission. _That's how you run a revolution_, Aleka thought. _Firm, but caring. If you give your followers what they want, they'll continue to follow you._

Then Aleka went back to her tent. She took out a small crystal prism from her bag and set it in the sun that shone through her sunlight. Small rainbows ricocheted everywhere. Reaching into her duffel bag and taking out a drachma, she threw it into the rainbow in front of her and requested Iris's assistance. The rainbow turned into a reflective surface, and slowly a picture formed.

A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes stood there. He looked around him a few times, and then smiled into the portal. "Aleka. Nice to see you."

"As always, Aaron." She replied. "Give me an update."

"Weapons are being made in excess, mostly because of our invasion. We've been able to steal a good amount. Those Hephaestus kids aren't too smart-they aren't noticing. I'll send Alice to you with the weapons once we've gotten a few more. It still won't be enough, though."

Aleka sighed. "Thank you, Aaron. You know I'd only trust you to do this. Now…some of the followers already have weapons, but it appears that I'll have to arm some of them with less conventional arms…but I suppose a kitchen knife will hurt just as much as a celestial bronze dagger."

Aaron nodded. "Good luck, Al. You'll pull something together. They're kind of freaking out here. Most of the campers were pretty young when Kronos attacked, so they don't have much experience in real-life combat."

"I know," Aleka replied. "I'll see you soon, hopefully."

"You'll see Alice sooner," he told her.

Smiling wearily, Aleka broke the connection before someone saw him. If Aaron were to get caught as a spy inside the camp, they would be in big trouble. It was one of the largest accomplishments of her operation, that she had someone right under Chiron's nose and he didn't have a clue. Just the thought made her grin.

She turned and walked out of her tent, ready to rally the troops. They were going to have to steal some weapons.

**Annabeth**

Stepping off the train, Annabeth looked around the huge station. She'd missed the city a little, the hustle and bustle and the beautiful architecture and, most importantly, the memories it held for her. She held her duffel bag over her shoulder as she headed for the exit. She glanced around outside, trying to get her bearings and remember where she was, and how to get to the college. Percy had offered to meet her at the station, but she wanted to find her way by herself. So she'd been attacked-that was nothing new, and she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

She began down the busy street heading the way she was _pretty _sure was right. She was rather preoccupied however, so she didn't notice the seventeen-year-old boy, tall, lanky and mischievous-looking, who was walking a safe distance behind her, hands in his pockets. He was good at not being noticed-a life of pranks and practical jokes had set him up to work as a perfect spy for Aleka. He wasn't interested so much in the 'halfbloods are superior' spiel she went off on, but he enjoyed the action.

Annabeth turned around momentarily, but the boy was simply glancing at a newspaper stand, and Annabeth had no reason to think anything was wrong.

The boy grinned slyly.

**Chad**

"I see her."

I looked up. Percy was leaning against the wall, while I sat next to him, my Psych textbook open in my lap. Our dormitory was located closest to the main entrance, so we were waiting outside to find her.

"Why is she walking all the way here?" I'd asked Percy before.

"She wanted to get here by herself."

"But it'll take way longer than if you just went and got her. She doesn't know the way very well." I argued.

Percy shrugged. "It's an Annabeth thing. She's really…prideful."

I decided not to go into it anymore.

Now I could see a girl with a duffel bag walking across the grass to our dorm. Percy had straightened up, and started towards her. I sighed and closed my book, watching them. They were too far for me to hear when they met each other, but I saw them hug, and then Percy took her bag. They started towards the entrance to our dorm building.

A few minutes after they'd disappeared into the double doors, I got up and went in. If you hadn't picked this up already, I was really not looking forward to Annabeth staying with us. We'd managed to get a futon that we'd brought into the room for Percy to sleep on(he was giving her his miniscule bed, of course). Annabeth hadn't liked me the other time we'd met, and she didn't seem like the kind of person who gave second chances. Then there was the fact that pretty much whenever I was in my own dorm room, I'd be a third wheel. Gah.

Oh, and there was the fact that having outsiders stay in our dorms was against the school rules. But then again, Percy and I had sneaked outside and ridden a pegasus off-campus, so obviously security was not top-notch here.

I got to our floor. Percy was standing partway in our room, with the door open. I came up behind him.

Annabeth was in the room, looking around. Her bag was now sitting on Percy's bed.

"This isn't so bad." She said.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.

She turned around and looked at me. "Oh. Hi, Chad."

I nodded in reply. Then, before things got awkward and/or strained, I announced, "I'm gonna go see if Jenna's up for ice cream. I'll be back later."

As I turned to go down the hall, I saw Percy shoot me a look. It was partly annoyed, but party apologetic. I figured that that was the best I'd get from him.

Jenna was, in fact, up for ice cream. So I managed to get rid of two hours I might have otherwise had to spend in Annabeth's proximity.

* * *

So, I'm going to use the school excuse. School began mid-August, and man is it a pain. For example, chemistry? No one understnads it. And I've already been out sick for a day, and it's only been three weeks. This is why I despise high school. It's a breeding place for germs. *Shudder*

Anyway, today I got this email that Oh, Baby!, a fanfic that hadn't been updated in ages, had a new chapter. This inspired me to update Freshman Year because I really, really want to finish it.

Review, PLEASE! Then I'll write more often, I promise.

Loooooooove, Jenna.


	10. Communication

Oh, how I love being on Fanfiction again. I was gone for too long. Here's the tenth chapter! It's exciting! Oh, and I changed the story's rating to T because of this chapter...but what was I thinking, writing about college kids with a K+ rating? Okay, enjoy.

* * *

When I got home that night, Annabeth and Percy were nowhere to be seen. I ordered in Chinese food, and then chilled out, studied and surfed the Internet until I crashed on my bed.

I woke up slowly and groggily, but eventually I opened my eyes and saw the wall staring back at me. I rolled over and took in the rest of the room.

Wait a minute. Percy's bed was empty.

I glanced down, and-yep. Percy and Annabeth were both on the futon. Of course. Luckily they were both sound asleep, and clothed.

Groaning and altogether put off with Annabeth's presence, I got up and quickly got dressed, since my first class was starting kind of soon. I grabbed my textbook and an apple from our mini-fridge, and then left.

Annabeth

"So, I actually do have classes today, which means I gotta leave soon."

Annabeth sighed. "I figured."

She and Percy were lying on the futon in the dorm room. When they woke up, Chad had already left. It was nearing nine AM, and Percy needed to leave, but he was lingering.

"I really missed you." He said, stroking her blonde hair.

She smiled. "It's only been a couple months. Not even that."

Percy raised his eyebrow. "Are you saying you didn't miss _me?_"

Annabeth laughed. "I missed you like crazy."

"I could just ditch for today," he suggested.

She shook her head. "No. I think I'd hate that even more than not seeing you."

Percy raised his eyebrow. "So once again, you value education over me."

Annabeth shrugged, and then laughed. "You should go."

"Yeah," Percy said, and then kissed her.

He got up and changed into jeans and a T-shirt. He sifted through piles of clothes, books, CD's and videogames for his school supplies.

"You know, this place is a mess," she commented once Percy straightened up.

"I know. Chad's kind of a slob and it's rubbing off on me."

Annabeth didn't believe him, and she made a mental note to clean the place up later. "Sure. I'm just gonna go to the library today, work on schoolwork."

Percy smiled. "Okay. Bye." He leaned down to kiss her one last time, and then stood up and left the room.

Chad

I had classes on and off throughout the whole day, and whenever I stopped by the dorm it was empty. I was taking Jenna out to a movie that night, so that meant even less time in which I might have to be in contact with Annabeth.

You may have noticed that I'm really serious about avoiding. But look-the chick had maybe said seven words to me, and at least five of them had been contemptuous. And then there was the whole awkward-third-wheel situation. So I just figured it was better for everyone if I was with Annabeth as little as possible.

About three hours later-which would have made it around nine-Jenna and I were walking back through the hallway, on our way back from the movie(by the way, we saw Inception-it was mind-blowing in multiple ways.). We reached her dorm room, and she opened the door, and turned around.

"Hey, um…" she said. "Joslyn's over at Tyler's tonight, so, do you wanna come in?"

Just as my mind was processing what she said, and what it might possibly mean, we heard someone yell from down the hall.

"Chad!"

Both Jenna and I turned our heads to see Percy heading towards us, slipping his cell phone into his pocket, walking quickly towards us. I did not reply.

"There you are," Percy continued. "I was looking for you! We gotta go, come on. Bye, Jenna!"

And then, as he walked past, he grabbed my upper right arms and forcibly pulled me away from Jenna's door. She looked puzzled and a bit let down. "I'll call you!" I yelled back to her as Percy pulled me around the corner to the stairs.

"What the hell, man?" I asked. "That was such a cockblock!"

"Too bad," Percy replied. "Annabeth got ambushed. She's okay but we're meeting her."

"You're, like, a superhero. You couldn't have done this without me?" I asked irritably, but now I was following him of my own accord, since he'd let go of my arm.

"Hey," he said with a slight grin. "Every superhero needs a sidekick."

We met Annabeth in an alley about five blocks from the college. She was sitting on the curb, looking at the traffic. She started when Percy tapped on her shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked.

"You already knew I was okay," she replied as she stood up. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" I asked, since they'd obviously already talked about it.

"A creep grabbed me from behind, spun me around, and started to pull out a dagger. Celestial bronze, of course. I socked him, took the knife, and watched him run away. I should have followed him. He's probably part of that conspiracy in West Virginia. He could have had valuable information and I let him run off."

Percy opened his mouth, but I was already saying something. "Um, he came at you with a deadly weapon. I think you're perfectly allowed to care for your own safety before trying to break down a revolt of teenagers."

Annabeth didn't appreciate this. I had yet to learn very much about her character.

"Regardless," she said after a moment, "We need to talk to Chiron."

Percy agreed, and then mentioned that there was a carwash two blocks away. I didn't grasp the connection between the two things, but I had a lot to learn. We got to the carwash, which was completely empty, and went into one of the, er, stalls? Booths? One of the places for car-washing. Percy put two quarters in the machine and after the appropriate _plink! _sound, the hose started. Percy picked it up and angled it so that it splashed on the other wall, nearly soaking me, and a rainbow appeared in the dying sunlight.

Annabeth reached into her pocket and took out a large, gold-colored medallion. "What's that?" I asked.

She looked at me. At first I thought she'd just glare and not answer, but then she spoke. "A drachma. Ancient Greek coin."

I nodded, and then watched as she tossed it into the water. She said something quietly, but I couldn't make it out. The coin disappeared as it hit the rainbow, and the water's surface rippled and changed. Suddenly the image of a wrap-around porch appeared, and the centaur, Chiron, was standing on it, facing us.

"Hello, Annabeth." He said calmly.

"Hi, Chiron." She replied. "How are things going at camp?"

He seemed to look past us for a moment. Then he replied, "It's been better, but it's certainly been worse. More theft than usual is going on."

Annabeth nodded, and then she proceeded to sum up how she'd been attacked. While she did this, I walked around her and over to Percy, where I asked him quietly what was going on.

"Oh. It's an Iris-message," he told me. "The goddess, Iris, she controls rainbows and we can contact people through them if we pay her a drachma."

"Ah," I said. Something about 'Iris-messages' was tugging at my memory, but I couldn't quite reach the thought. Chiron was replying now.

"I see. I fear that these things are connected, as you mentioned, to the group of demigods in West Virginia. If this is true, and they're serious, then we need to act accordingly. You'll be in New York until anything happens?"

"Yes, of course." Annabeth replied.

"Good. We'll be sending more satyrs to spy on the camp and see if we can gleam any more information. You may be called upon soon. Be careful, and if you find anything else out, please let us know."

"We will."

The machine beeped then, and Annabeth said goodbye to Chiron before the water cut off. Percy hooked the hose back up, but we didn't move just yet.

"I didn't think this was nearly so serious," Annabeth said.

"These kids mean business, I guess. Kids can get a lot done with celestial bronze." Percy smiled at Annabeth when he said this, and she smiled slightly back.

Before anything else was said, a loud honking noise made me flinch. We turned to see a blue Chevy pulling into the carwash. We quickly left the area, but not before hearing the man driving the truck swear angrily at us.

"But what could they want?" Annabeth asked as we began walking back to campus. It was completely dark now, the stores and restaurants lit up, the headlights on the street blinding. "Power? Recognition? Don't they have that already?"

Percy shrugged, putting his arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe they just want some action."

Annabeth scoffed. "Then they can go kill some monsters. I'd be fine with that."

"Same here," Percy replied ruefully. I felt like I was kind of intruding-I didn't understand so much of their world.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Annabeth said. "When Chiron calls the two of us over to camp."

"The three of us, actually." I put in.

They stopped, and both turned to me. Annabeth looked puzzled, and Percy looked dismayed. "What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"If there's a battle, I'm going. Rachel said so."

Annabeth turned to Percy, who nodded after a moment.

"Rachel." Annabeth said. "That girl is always messing things up."

And there went the tentative relationship I had with Annabeth.

* * *

What'd you think, eh? Review, por favor!

I'd just like to thank HPobsessssssed7, AKA Beverly, for being a new reader and a consistent reviewer. She's like, the model fanfic reader! Be more like her!

And very importantly, Rick Riordan is writing a new book series on half-bloods! You can read the first two chapters of The Lost Hero here: .com/disneybooks/heroes- It's gonna be awesome!

"Dude, didn't it smell like raspberries in there?"  
"It was cinnamon."  
"Oh yeah, I knew it was something exotic."  
-two jocks in my Spanish class. XD

Okay, I'll be writing more soon! Please review and spread the word and whatnot, and keep being awesome!  
Love Jenna!


	11. Surprise, Surprise

Okay, I've finally updated! I'm sorry, I've been so busy, but that's really no excuse. Here we go, with the eleventh chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chad**

The week went on, and besides a few strange looks from Annabeth, I started getting along with her pretty well. She was kind of intense about a lot of things, but occasionally, when she was with Percy, she would laugh and let loose a little. I could see why Percy liked her-she was pretty, and smart, and knew how to get stuff done. I, however, could never put up with all her seriousness. And since Percy's a pretty laid-back guy, I don't see how he did it. Love conquers all, I guess.

Anyway, there weren't any other, er, supernatural happenings that week. Annabeth chilled out with us, or at the library, I hung out with Jenna some, we studied. Then, my mom called.

"Chad! I can't believe I haven't seen you in weeks!" She exclaimed when I answered my cell.

"I know. How are you and Dad?" Between Psych and Greek gods, I hadn't really had time to talk to my parents.

"Oh, we're just fine, just fine. What about you? How is school?"

"Um, it's good. Kind of hard, but I'm managing."

My mom continued to ask me questions about everything and anything involving college and New York, until she finally ran out of ideas fifteen minutes later.

This happened while we were in the dorm, and Annabeth was out getting coffee. After I hung up, Percy smiled. "She had a lot to talk about, huh?" he commented.

"She always does. It's worse now that I'm away."

Percy shrugged. "Figures. I think most parents are like that."

"Except you," I said. "You haven't had a single phone call from your mom."

"Well, yeah. My mom lives in the city." He didn't continue.

After a second of silence I got up the balls to ask, "Who's your dad, anyway? One of the, um, gods?"

Percy nodded. "Yep. One of them."

I waited for a second before I realized he wasn't saying anything else. "Yeah, which one?" I pushed it.

He looked at me intently. "Have you been doing any research on mythology in the past few weeks?"

I looked down and laughed. "Yeah, a little bit. I'm curious."

He nodded. "Figures. Come on."

He got out of his bed then, and opened the door. I quickly stood up and followed him into the hall. He walked down the corridor until he reached the bathrooms and showers. He went in, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then opened a shower door. I was kind of hanging back, confused, and also a bit weirded out.

"Do you want to see, or not?" Percy asked.

I gingerly walked across the gray tile floor, making sure to avoid wet spots, and then stood outside the shower he was in.

Percy stepped up so that he was right under the shower head. He reached forward and, still fully clothed, turned the knob.

Water came rushing out, and Percy glanced up at it. Then, right as the first drops would have hit him, they inexplicably veered to the side and avoided him completely, leaving him dry. When the water hit the ground, it went around his shoes, totally defying the gravity that should have pulled it into the drain he stood on. The water just pooled there until Percy turned off the shower, jumped over the huge puddle, and then looked at it. Quickly, all of the water was sucked down the drain, and the drops on the edge of the shower and all over the ground were also drawn to it. In a matter of seconds, the shower was entirely dry, as was Percy.

"Dude-how-" I sputtered. He just grinned.

"Pretty cool, huh? Can you think of who my dad might be now?"

I stopped staring and considered for a moment, trying to remember the names and powers of the Greek gods I'd looked up online.

"Poseidon." I finally recalled.

"That's the one." He replied. "I can also breathe under water."

**Aleka**

Aleka was not in a good mood.

She rubbed her temple as she addressed the boy standing in front of her. "So she hit you, took your weapon, and you didn't fight back?"

Aleka's voice was calm, revealing no emotion. This scared the boy. "No, ma'am, you see-I made a pass at her, and she was fast-crazy fast! I didn't know what I was dealing with. I was told that she was more of a thinker than a fighter, but man, if she thinks better than she fights, we're really up against something!"

Aleka sighed. "You're dismissed." She told the boy. "And since you lost a celestial bronze weapon, you will not be participating in the ambush of Camp Half-Blood."

The boy's mouth dropped, and he started arguing. "What? That's not fair! You can't-"

"Be grateful that is your only punishment," Aleka said in a deadly quiet voice.

Dejected, the boy walked out. In fact, after leaving her tent, he continued out of the camp and through the woods, until he found a road and started making his way back to his home.

Later in the day, there was another request for entrance to Aleka's tent. She's been holed up inside, pacing, cursing, and then strategizing. She reluctantly said, "Come in," praying it would be good news but expecting it would not be.

In walked a tall, thin, limber girl with long black hair and Asian-tinted eyes. "Hi, Aleka."

"Alice," Aleka whispered. Then, louder, she continued. "Alice, you're here!"

Alice grinned. "Yep, and I've got a present for you."

She lifted the flap of the tent, and Aleka approached it. She could see a group of her campers gathered around something. She went out and pushed them aside. Muttering excitedly, they moved. So that Aleka could see a huge bundle full of bronze weapons. They were made by the children of Hephaestus, and excellent arms. Aleka turned to Alice.

"Perfect."

* * *

Yes, yes, what do you think? Feedback, please, via reviews! I'll love you if you review!  
It's Halloween tomorrow and I'm watching Harry Potter movies with my boyfriend. Quite excited am I.  
I hope you guys all have a great Halloween, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for sticking this out with me and giving me inspiration and motivation to keep writing. Love you all!

-Jenna!


	12. Forward Motion

Deepest, deepest apologies. But I won't grovel now, I'll do that after the chapter.

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**Annabeth**

"No, not too much. Yes, just right. Hold on, hold on-I'll just do it."

Chad stepped back, handing me the lid to the laundry detergent I'd just bought, and put his hands up in a sign of surrender. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit…"

"Controlling?" he offered. He smiled, though, so I could tell he was joking.

I smiled back tentatively. "Yeah. I'd just rather do things myself than let other people do them wrong. Or have to take time teaching them."

Chad nodded. "Well, you obviously do everything right, so why bother with everyone else?"

I rolled my eyes. Chad and I were at the point in our…well, friendship, I suppose, where we could joke and be sarcastic with eachother. It was actually kind of nice to have another sarcastic person around, and a good-humored one at that.

We were down in the dorm building's laundry room. Percy was at a lecture, and I'd noticed how completely faded and wrinkled all the boys' clothes were, and I found out they were basically throwing all of their clothes into a machine(when they washed them, which wasn't often) with a box of Tide and washing with whatever settings the previous resident had left on the washer. It was, frankly, despicable. So I was showing Chad how to properly wash clothing.

"You can't put too much soap in," I told him as I poured in the detergent and put the cap back on. "And you have to make sure you have it all set up right."

I turned the right knobs and Chad nodded in kind of a passive way. I sighed. This was probably going in one ear and out the other, which meant that whoever he married would befall to the stereotypical domestic duties of a woman. Unless she was a tough girl and managed to kick some sense into him. I, however, was not in the mood.

"…and you press Start." I finished, and he nodded.

He picked up the laundry basket and shoved it on a shelf. I set the detergent in it and we began to make our way up the dusty, carpeted stairs. We didn't say anything on our way back to the dorm, but it wasn't an awkward silence. I was kind of warming up to Chad. He wasn't the obnoxious frat boy I'd assumed he was when I saw his blonde hair and broad shoulders. Then again, I didn't have much faith in teenage boys in general.

We walked back into the dorm, which was noticeably cleaner than it had been when I first arrived. I'd been there for about a week, which was unfortunate. I was in constant communication with my professors, emailing them all of my assignments. It was a nice break from drama(by which I mean Watson) and I got time with Percy, so it was allover nice.

"Well," Chad said to me, picking his jacket up off of his dresser. "I've got a study group to go to. I'll seeya later."

"Bye," I replied as he picked up his laptop case and left. The rather thin wall shook when Chad closed the door a bit harshly. I stood there, nearly in the center of the room, just a bit to Percy's side. I looked around, and then sat down on Percy's bed. I lied down, sighing, and breathed in the scent of his pillow. It was old and the part that peeked out of the pillowcase was rather threadbare. It smelled just like him, though. I smiled, and after a moment I got up to work on an essay that was due by the end of the week. I didn't forget the scent though, subtle and salty, like the ocean.

**Aleka**

Aleka stood on top of a ridge near the end of the campsite. It served as a stage, a platform for her to address her followers on, to see all of her warriors at once. And this is what she did as she swept her eyes over all of the halfbloods accumulated in front of her. The crowd jostled around, fluctuating as everyone talked and assembled themselves. Every one of them had some sort of weapon, some of Greek origin, some simply run-of-the-mill human weapons. About half of them were supplied with helmets, and some even carried shields. They were all lean and fit, their muscles and reflexes heightened not only from their superior genetics but also from their time in the forest, taking care of themselves and of eachother. Aleka just observed them, and through the maelstrom of stress and constant calculations that flew through her mind, a feeling of pride surfaced. In front of her were over seventy children of the gods. They had gathered from all over the eastern United States, some traveling from the Midwest or the very northern reaches of America to join her cause, her petition for the recognition they deserved.

She had been planning this since the day her mother had sat her down at the kitchen table in their pristine townhouse and explained that Aleka(or Ally, as she was called at the time) was a demigod. Aleka's mother had expected her daughter to be shocked or angry or sad. Very carefully, she had explained the origin of the Greek gods, how they were real, but secret. She told Aleka the story of her father-that he had been a very brave, if not slightly rash man. How she had met him at a bar in her more wild days, and been immediately smitten with him. He was muscular and handsome, powerful and wild. They'd been together, sporadically, for a year. And then, he was gone, moving on. Aleka's mother was left alone, pregnant. Aleka had sat there, listening carefully. She knew that her mother was speaking slowly and gently because she expected Aleka to feel hurt, or betrayed. But Aleka felt none of these things. Her eyes had lit up. Finally, she had thought, she knew. She knew that she wasn't just another broken-up marriage or mistake or forgotten love child. She was special. She had magic within her. She was going to do something with this genetic power, and she knew it even then. She had begun plotting then how she would show the world that she was special, and as she learned more of Greek lore and of the world, she knew that she would have brothers and sisters to help her.

Now that moment had come.

"Attention!" She cried, and then accompanied it with a sharp, two-fingered whistle. The crowd quieted and stopped moving, everyone looking at her. She took a deep breath.

"We are all," she began in a loud voice, "children of the gods. Golden ichor runs through our veins. Whether we were born to Ares," a large cheer went up, "Athena," more cheers, "Hermes," once again, shouts arose, "or any other god, we are esteemed. We are powerful. We are blessed with abilities more advanced than any regular human. And yet, we hide away! We avoid our destinies as heroes by ignoring our heritage. We all know that this is wrong; that's why we're here. And we have worked for weeks and weeks, my friends, but now we are ready. It's time. We have gathered ourselves, and our supplies, and our arms, and it is now time that we take action. It's time that we march on Camp Half-Blood and show them what real demigods are. It's time that we show them that we are the ones with the power, that we will not hide anymore, that we will take hold of our fate and show the world what we are and the power we posses. It will not be a secret! It will be a celebrated power! Are you ready, brothers and sisters?"

At this, the whole crowd erupted into shouts, applause, and screaming. Aleka laughed, more with satisfaction than humor. Because they were ready. They were all ready, and so was she.

Taking one final breath, she called over the cheering. "We leave at dawn!"

**Chad**

By six, all three of us were back at the dorm. Annabeth was sitting at Percy's desk. All of Percy's stuff had been pushed to one side so that she could lay out a big piece of paper that she was carefully examining, occasionally making marks or lines on it. Percy was playing a videogame he'd rented, something involving zombies and skateboarding. I was composing an email to my parents, trying to reply to the three that I'd received from my mom in the past two weeks.

Eventually, Percy broke the silence, setting down his controller. "Are we ordering in tonight, or what?"

"Whatever," Annabeth replied in a voice that implied that she hadn't really been listening.

"Dunno," I said, looking up from my computer screen. "But I heard about a party tonight, if you guys want to go."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Whose party?"

"Guy in my Psych class," I replied as Annabeth sighed and took a large eraser to part of the paper. "I heard about it in my study group thing today."

"He's got his own place?"

"Yep. About three blocks down. I'll probably see Jenna wants to come. You guys can join us."

Annabeth finally looked up from the desk, as if she was finally realizing what we were talking about. "A party?"

Percy and I nodded. Annabeth bit her lip. "I don't know…"

"We don't have to go," Percy said, picking up the Xbox controller again. "I'm chill with staying in."

Annabeth glanced at him, then me, then the Xbox. "Nah, let's go."

I stifled a laugh. "We should leave by eight-thirty, eight forty-five. Unless we want to get dinner before."

"Let's just order pizza," Percy suggested, and no one argued. He picked up my phone, which I'd given him permanent permission to use, and dialed the pizza parlor's number, which we knew by heart.

I typed a couple more words, hit Send, and then slid my laptop off of me. "I'll go ask Jenna. Be right back." I told them, leaving the room.

We didn't leave the dorms 'til past nine, because of Annabeth. It wasn't the stereotypical taking-forever-to-get-ready reason, however. She didn't take twenty minutes to do her hair or makeup or choose an outfit. It was because she was doing homework.

"She's wound a little tight," Jenna whispered to me as she and I waited in the hallway. We could hear Annabeth's quick and ceaseless typing, occasionally punctuated by Percy's voice, quiet with underlying impatience.

"You could say that," I replied. "I guess she's just really…driven."

Jenna raised her eyebrows. "I used to be driven. School-obsessed. Then I got to junior year and realized that being driven really, really sucked."

I laughed. "Amen to that."

Finally, Percy and Annabeth came out. We started walking to the apartment complex where the party-thrower, a guy named Greg, lived. We got there within twenty minutes. We were buzzed up, and as we made our way up the stairs to the third floor, I was a bit dubious. The place was old and calm, made of brick and plaster. I had the feeling that a wild party was not going to end well.

We opened the door to 3F, and the room was already crowded, the air smelling slightly of smoke.

"Chad! Hey!" I turned to see Greg himself standing there. "Glad you could make it," he said, walking over to us, dodging other people. The music playing was rhythmic with only gibberish for words as far as I could tell. It wasn't very loud. Yet.

We all made introductions. Greg smiled, and I noticed that his eyes were a bit more dilated than normal. "C'mon," he told us. "Make yourself at home. Come get a beer or something."

Jenna linked her hand in mine, and we followed him. If I'd turned around, I probably would have seen Annabeth with a disapproving look and Percy glancing around the room, his face passive. But I didn't really care to see either of those things. Instead I squeezed Jenna's hand, and we headed farther into the apartment, farther into the party, not thinking about anything else.

* * *

So.

I know, it's been a while. School has been crazy, life has been busier, my mind has been a bit clogged. Those are excuses, though, which isn't what you deserve. You deserve a story! So that's what I'll give you. A little review from xaera reminded me how much I love you guys and how much I love this story. So it will continue, hopefully more regularly. I just haven't been writing lately, and I'm going to fix that.

Please forgive me and review. I already love you but I will, in fact, love you more.

"I'm going to get you a goldfish for your birthday. I'll put it in a tupperware."  
"Or a plastic baggie."  
"What? That's horrible! How could you do that?"  
"...a bag with water in it."


End file.
